THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11, 19 March 1908, Page 12

THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND

MEMOIRS OF THE EARLY DAYS

(Contributed.) . \_ • (Continued.) The Hutt Valley. A good many of the pioneer settlers, who came out under the auspices of the New Zealand Company in 1840, made their homes in the' Hutt Valley, where for many years they suffered many hardships and were exposed to many a dangers. In the first instance they erected rude habitations on the Petone beach, .but in course of time they penetrated farther up the valley, and settled on various selections, which many of them^ occupied until their death at a ripe old age. A few of them still survive, and the descendants of most own and aulti/ate the holdings of their parents. The part of the "valley, known as Upper Hutt, was a dense forest of mixed bush ; almost every variety of tree and shrub tfcown in tbe JtomtLnion was to be found there in all their native luxuriance. The- River Hutt, known to" the Natives as the Heretaunga,- was navigable from -Its mouth to a distance of nearly ten miles in the early days, for small vessels, and far up-, towards Its source by the Maoris in their canoes. There was then a numerous Native population "• residing in Palis, which were dotted all along the banks of the river for a distance of thirty miles> from) the sea. The Maoris were coi*tinually on the move, and were the cause oE considerable anxiety and! trouble to the • early settlers, all of whom were enrolled In the militia for the protection of their homes, families,- and belongings. Military camps, occupied by regular troops, were planted at intervals 1 , • and stockades erected. Gradually, however, the assumed a more friendly attitude, and eventually, lived in ..harmony alongside their European neighbors. As the • valley became denuded of its bush, the riyer proved the cause of considerable loss ,and trouble to the pioneer settlers, frequently overflowing its banks, and destroying much valuable land. For nearly ten years, dating almost from the^beginning of settlement in Wellington; the Rev. Father J. J. P. O'Reily, in . addition to his duties in Wellington, attended" to the spiritual welfare of the - Hutt pioneers. There are some aged and 1 worthy couples now living who were united in the bonds of Matrimony by him, and whose descendants are filling responsible positions in the Dominion.The Hutt Mission. was founded' in 1850 by the Rev. Father Forest. MaMy with funds given by the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, and with the assistance of his small ('a' tEblic community, he erected a pretty little church (Serf icated to SS. Peter and Paul), a presbytery, and a school. This, the first church ).n the Valley, was erected on a site .about nine miles from Wellington, described at -the time as being situated amid picturesque surroundings, the hrills around being> covered with dense forest. Mr. A. H. Bliake, who in bis boyhood days was closely associated witK many of the earliest missionaries, kindly supplies me with the following account of the opening of the first ohuroh :— c It had been

decided to open. and bless the building on a certain Sunday* The evening, previous, Mr. Huntley (schoolmaster) and two boys (my brother and myself) were conveyed by ' co&ohi to, the locality,, his Lordship Bishop Viard, Dr. aud Mrs. Fitzgerald journeying by other vehicles. The opening ceremony was most* impiessive, and was followed by an elo>qjuently preached sermon~"by^ the saintly prelate. The incidental music was rendered by four voices, Mrs Fitzgerald (who acted as soloist, and also presided at the harmonium), Mr. Huntley, and my brother and myself. The music of the Mass was Webbe's in O I may say without egotism, that, considering we had no bass it was most creditably rendered. The question then ar-"' v _ose, could we remain arid, sing early Vespers, to. do which meant that we would have to return home on foot Mr Huntley pointed \ out th a t it w : e agreed to walk hack we could stay for the service. Of course we accepted* the conditions. At the conclusion of Vespers, his Lordship instantly vetoed the proposition to hire a conveyance, consequently we started off on our walk of nine w?i cS V r r ro ", te at i' hat time consist ed of a not over - wide road C o r drays, hemmed in* by densely clad hills on our right whSe the waters of PoneVe (Port Nichnlsnm ' occasionally dashed almost to. our feet on the left leaving small choice of pathway for pedestrians On we went through mud and' water, without feeling the journey in the leas* wearisome. The fact of stepping into a KJln f Watel " ° n + the dark road appealed g to be a source ofmerroment to the Bishop or schoolmaster, as ££*! • - GotG otl f r ™Sotiated a puddle-avoided by thl foTterraTma TW mistake siLa! L a T h6Se incjdents . coupled with the occaw , Late £ on Father Forest was joinciS by Father Scon who, subsequently assumed charge of the Mission Foil lowing m the wake of settlement, which had penetrated to the valley of the Upper Hutt named by the Maoris The First Church. by the old-time slow and hn i s ° nie **£ obtained imc. As roads we?e foSnld »n« Z meth ° d of P it; - Saw - Proved, machinery was 1.2* n i Cans of transit im ~ establislied. TimLv-miuSi^^ and SaW mills w «re pie industry, and wS l hp for f man^ years the st - athe settlers,' and^alth, LSetl many of selections. The section on whi^lf cl T Ped & Cle^ th&ir built comprises about tSL ' Jose Ph s Churoh' is the Hon. Mr. Pet? cUt e Ut a f b r f: an <* ™ i.he gift o f certainly the finest in the local, tl a beautifuI 7 one, a md its native timber and s?h*w- in /* Was cle ared of eat Parishioners f iESSind ft?^hs I -^^ hy the ea^«araong the first -l 5™ 0 jS th«lS *¥ ceme tery,' and Mr. James Brown, senr Yenr, l,H ct vSeCluslonv SeCluslon was was laid alon^de' hin "'after ll ? aged courageous pdoneerin!;^'leavi nff 1 jf alient toil and good and generous deeds which ca^'ivJ^L 3 - J ecord ' of memory. ulLn ca n never be effaced from

A Pair Proportion, of the Maori Ponul-fi™ or the time were Catholics a( «j opuution. Mass was celebrated tSeyfor^ 2* "5? &n ? d ? V tha * Station, when the older mSSrniiS? X ° f the ° ondeserted, the former. octant XJWS"^

their tribe elsewliere. Many ,of the- male portion were expert harvestmen, when the implements used were o£ the primitive order, and in the early days found employment with their European neighbors. In later years St. Joseph's. Church, whiiobi originally cost £50 to build; was considerably enlarged and completed to its present design. This work was done during the time railway construct ion^ was going on, when great assistance financially was given by the navvies aod- others engaged on what is now the main trunk tone o ver the' Rimutafea Ranges. The completion of the sacred edifice, which is certainly o.je of the , prettiest in design and situation to be seen anywhere in the Domriraion, was due, I believe, to the Rev. Father John- Goutenodre, then priest in charge. Father Scon's successor was Father Pertuis, who was followed by Fathers Goutenoire, McCaughey, and Yarden, the last of th.l 3 old missionaries. * When the main coach road was formed over the Rdmutaka Mountains to the plains of the Wairarapa, the early pastors' of the Hutt periodically visited that vast district, and also Kaiko'jra. During these peilicds of absence they were temporarily replaced by one or other of the early missionaries ■when available, or by one of the Fathers from Wellington. There is no portion of the" Dominion with n more interesting past than the- valleys of the Lower andi Upper Hutt, and much could be written on other matters connected wdth the-early days of the settlement, but such is outside our present purpose. The pioneers had certainly all the characteristics that go to make the best of colonists, and their sturdy fight with the wilderness, the many privations ( they suffered, and the various difficulties they had to contend with should not be forgotten in thfese days of comparative comfort and ease, of steam and electricity. * (To be Continued.) '